The purpose of this research is to continue our investigation of the antecedents and correlates of early academic achievement among American, Japanese, and Chinese childern. The results of our prior research indicate that American childern perform more poorly in tests of both reading and mathematics achievement than do Chinese children, even though the two groups do not differ notably in their performance on measures of cognitive skills in reading. The results are found at grade 1 and also at grade 5. A further study of the basis of this poor performance is proposed. Of speical concern is the basis of reading disabilities found among both Chinese and American children. Comparisons of the personal and environmental correlates of reading disability among children reading languages involving entirely different writing systems would be especially valuable. (Our data collection in Japan has not yet been completed, although we now expect even higher levels of performance in Japan than in Taiwan.) Children at two age levels in the United States, Japan, and Taiwan would be studied: children from 4 to 4 1/2 who do and do not attend preschool, and children from 5 1/2 to 6 years who are enrolled in kindergarten. A sample of 60 boys and 60 girls in each of these conditions (total N in each country = 360) would be given tests of reading and pre-reading skills, tests of mathematics concepts and operations, and a battery of cognitive tasks. Mothers would be interviewed. Emphasis would be placed in the interviews on experiences related to academic achievement. Systematic observations would be conducted in preschool and kindergarten in an effort to assess differences in experiences provided by these institutions in the three countries. The study would provide useful information about poor academic achievement, including reading disabilities, which forms the background from which many problems in children's mental health arise.